Swan Lake: Gripping performance, happy ending
First trumpeter swans to fledge in Yellowstone NP lake since 1966
JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. — Wildlife managers in Yellowstone are high-fiving each other over a swan family in the park that recently took flight and left…and that’s great news.
It is the first time since 1966 that trumpeter swan cygnets have fledged from Swan Lake in northern Yellowstone National Park. Four cygnets hatched at the lake about four months ago.
It takes only about one and a half days for newly born cygnets to leave the nest and follow their parents into the water to begin feeding. At first, they can only dabble and graze, then as time passes, they learn to forage and care for themselves while staying close together as a family group. About three to four months after birth, they begin to fly making short trips around the area.
Wildlife watchers were especially rooting for one particularly scrawny cygnet born on Swan Lake that was undersized and slow to develop. When the lake began to freeze over, momma took flight with her cygnet kiddos, but the one just could not keep up and sustain flight.
The little cygnet was left behind as the lake began to freeze. It didn’t look good for the little swanling. Often, when a cygnet is not able to fly before freeze-up in autumn, it will die.
In this case, the weather warmed up enough that the abandoned cygnet was able to forage on its own in the lake. After about 10 days or so, the swan family returned and reunited with the runty cygnet and together the entire family took flight earlier this month in search of open water.
